War of the Ring - 2nd Edition Board Game

I've recently been posting images of my latest painting project, the 200+ minis from War of the Ring. 

But this game is not as well known as it should be, so I wanted to give a quick overview of the game for those who may not have seen it before. 

It's a strategy board game published by Ares Games, with one expansion currently available, and a second due at the end of September 2016. 

The game is for two players, one taking the role of the Free People (which consists of the Elves, the Men of Gondor, the Men of Rohan, the Dwarves and the Northmen) whilst the second player takes control of the Shadow forces (made up of the forces of Isenguard, Mordor and the Easterlings). 

The board is the map of Middle Earth, spilt up into its various countries, and the two players try to mass their forces and defend and/or attack their opponent. 

Each time they take a stronghold or area from the other side, they gain a victory point, and when the target number is achieved, that side wins. 

However - this is not a straight "Risk" style game - because in addition to the above the Free Peoples player has the Fellowship of the Ring, who are trying to make their way to Mount Doom in Mordor to destroy the ring. Once this happens, the Free People win. But, the Shadow player is trying to corrupt the hearts of the Fellowship, and if he succeeds, then he wins. 

The Fellowship move in secret - with Sauron continually hunting for them, and so rather than trying to win by military means, the Free Peoples player is trying to defend and distract the Shadow player long enough for them to get Frodo to Mordor. 

Additionally, each player has a number of Heroes - Gandalf, Aragon, Legolas, Sauruman, the Witch King, the Nazgul etc - who will also be roaming the map and adding assistance to the forces. 

The game is very well balanced, and takes around 3 hours for experienced players, or 5 hours for new players. It also takes a while to set up due to the sheer number of pieces (over 200). 

Tom Vasel (from DiceTower) reviews the game in the short video below, and calls it the "Definitive Lord of the Rings experience" and has said it is one of the best board games produced. 

 It's certainly one of my favourites, and Ares has recently announced that they are reprinting the game, which should be available again around November 2016.

Tom Vasel - video review of War of the Ring (2nd Edition)